Episode 215 B The Tower Continued
by Laheara
Summary: Final part up now, Part 7 The Aftermath. This is what I think happened to Rodney in the underground section of the city? Warning on chapter 5 for events near the end with some blood, and other nasties. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Tower Continued

Author: Laheara

Timeframe: Season 2

Spoilers: The Tower obviously but mentions of Critical Mass also and anything season 1 or 2 is game.

Summary: This is what I think happened to Rodney in the underground section of the city?

Author notes: Ok so the Baldric reference was supposed to be a joke but, hey, I have to call him something so I used it in here.

Disclaimer: No, I don't own any of them, just my ideas.

"Rodney, come in." Sheppard paced the small cell nervously waiting for a reply. He thought as he impatiently waited, 'Please answer. Come on, McKay, I really need to talk to you now so come in.'

Rodney was on his way back from checking the transporter in this area to see if it still worked, but it appeared to have collapsed years ago. When he heard Sheppard's voice he stopped dead. "Sheppard, are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

Rodney breathed a sigh of relief for his friend.

Sheppard released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Listen, I need you to pull the ZPM and cut the power right away or Ronan and Teyla are dead."

Rodney continued into the auxiliary control room heading for the power read-outs. "I already know all that. Look, unfortunately, I am cut off from the ZedPM."

Sheppard didn't like the sound of that, but Rodney was brilliant. Not that he'd ever admit it to the man, his ego was already the size of half the city. "There's gotta be something you can do."

Rodney sighed, "I'm working on it."

Sheppard whirled back around, when he heard the sigh, and shouted into the radio, "Well work faster."

"Work faster." Rodney mocked under his breath as he picked up the tablet. He started scanning and muttered to himself, "What does he think I'm doing? Vacationing on a beach down here?"

Rodney walked over and looked at each console in turn, looking for an answer that would help his friends in the village. His guide came in from looking at the cave in and suddenly it hit him. He already knew the power levels were low because he couldn't bring the internal communication systems back online. He whirled around and grabbed the data tablet again, checking on the ZedPM. It was at only 12 power.

Then Rodney remembered the recent trouble with the ZedPM overloading on Atlantis. It had been creating too much power and, with nowhere to send it, had been about to explode. In this case, it didn't have enough power and lots of places to send it.

Rodney keyed his radio and called Sheppard, "Alright I think I've got something. According to my readings, the ZedPM is nearly depleted. If we can activate enough systems simultaneously, it might drain power completely thus rendering the drones inert."

Sheppard waved his hand in circle waiting for the long technical explanation to end so he could talk. Finally Rodney finished and he said, "So do it."

Rodney frowned at the tone of Sheppard's voice. "No, I can't. I don't have access to enough systems to draw that kind of power. I need something really big."

Sheppard wracked his brain for an option. He looked over at Beckett who also seemed to be trying to think of something. Then he also remembered the problem from a few weeks ago. The city nearly blew up when the inertial dampeners came online to start the power up of… "How about the star drive? This city is just like Atlantis, right? A city that was designed to fly?"

"You want me to fly the city right up out of the ground?" Rodney was shocked at the idea. The place was falling apart, and with no shield it would never survive that.

"No, you don't have to go anywhere, just charge the engines. That should be the single greatest drain of power you can create."

"You're right that could work." Rodney ran the numbers in his head. That would definitely take more than 12 power. Then he remembered. "But there's only one problem."

Sheppard looked at Carson who was nervously hovering at the door. They were running out of time and Rodney still wasn't working. "What?"

"This place is pretty unstable. If we fire up the engines, the vibrations alone could cause the whole thing to come down on us."

Sheppard looked at Carson who looked like he was doing a quick prayer for Rodney's safety. Sheppard hoped that would count for him too. But Rodney was a scientist, the numbers don't lie. There were dozens of people along with Ronan and Teyla in the village and there were only two people underground.

"That's a risk we're gonna have to take." Sheppard really hoped that wouldn't be the last thing he ever said to Rodney.

Rodney took a deep breath and starting working on the Ancient controls, "Powering up main engines."

His nervous companion walked toward one of the pillars, "Is there another, more positive option I could imagine instead of the ceiling caving in on us?"

Rodney cringed and looked up as dust and dirt started to rain down on them as the power started running to the engines far below them in the true bowels of the ship/city. "I thought you were lying before when you said you believed in that stuff."

Rodney turned to see a piece of ceiling break away, "Baldric!"

The guide jumped to the side and the piece just missed him. "Thanks."

Rodney just waved and turned back to the controls, "Just be careful, ok?"

The shaking got worse and more dirt and pieces of the ceiling came down around them. Rodney looked over his shoulder to see Baldric holding onto the pillar for dear life and he did the same with the console. He knew from Atlantis that these things were integrated parts of the room, not just moved in and put in place, so they were solid.

One final large jolt, a massive cloud of dirt and debris and the shaking stopped. The room went dark with the reserve systems providing only minimal visibility.

"Well, this is better, I guess." Rodney reached out and picked up his flashlight and shined it on the console. Then he carefully stepped around the mess on the floor to get to his tablet and checked the ZedPM. It was totally out of power now, the drones and the chair should be dead as well.

Rodney breathed, "It worked the ZedPM is dead."

"Then my people are safe?" Baldric asked with a smile.

Rodney nodded and smiled, "Yes, they should be. Even at this distance we would have felt the shockwaves of an explosion."

Baldric leaned again the pillar and smiled. "Thank you, Dr. McKay."

"Well, as much as I'd love to accept the credit, it was Colonel Sheppard's idea." Then Rodney remembered he should probably check in. He keyed his radio, but before he had a chance to say anything the whole room began to shake again.

"I don't think this is good," Rodney said as he looked at the tablet. With the ZedPM offline, his tablet was the only thing still working. The city was now on emergency power so he was still getting readings.

"What is it? What's happening?" Baldric walked over and leaned over Rodney's shoulder.

"The quake that brought down the corridor appears to be only a precursor to a larger one. The added vibrations from trying to power up the engines only help to speed it up. It's a good thing the Ancients built seismic detectors into their technology. There's a huge earthquake that will hit in less then thirty minutes. It will likely be centered right here, but the village will feel it too." He reached for his radio again and keyed it on. "Colonel?"

Rodney didn't hear anything but static so he walked over to the shaft that had been made in the ceiling and tried again. "Colonel Sheppard? Teyla? Ronan? Can anyone hear me?"

"Dr. McKay? This is Teyla."

Rodney jumped at her voice. "Teyla! Good, you need to evacuate the villagers through the Gate to a planet that's safe. There's a big earthquake coming in about 30 minutes that will be localized in this valley, but the shockwaves will still reach the village. You have plenty of time to save everyone. I can't seem to raise Colonel Sheppard, can you try relay this to him. And get the people out of the Tower too. The city's few remaining systems are running on emergency power. If the structural integrity field fails, the Tower may collapse."

Teyla was shocked when she heard this. They had just survived an attack and now the village might be destroyed anyway. It didn't seem fair, but McKay was usually right about these things.

"Ronan! We must gather everyone and take them all through the Stargate to another world. Once they are safe warn and tell them we will be later then expected. I will relay the message to Colonel Sheppard."

Ronan nodded and then shouted to get the attention of the villagers. "I need everyone to gather around."

Once Teyla saw that Ronan was getting the attention of the villagers, she tried to call the Tower. "Colonel Sheppard, it is Teyla. Dr. McKay has just informed me that there is a massive earthquake about to arrive. He told us to take everyone through the Stargate until it is over."

At the Tower things were a becoming chaotic. The Lord Protector was dead, his son was in prison and now Otho was dead too. Mara stepped forward to take control. "Remove the body at once," she pointed to the former advisor. "This man murdered my father. And release my brother."

She walked up to Sheppard who was carefully putting the knife down and smiled when he turned back around. "You have saved my people, both here and in the village. How can I repay you?"

Sheppard realized she wasn't the same girl who'd come to his room. She seemed to have matured during the past few hours. "Well, you can repay me by making sure your society improves. Otho was able to use the chair because of a drug we gave him. You can give it to the rest of your people and make this a better world."

She looked up at him and smiled, "And will you stay and rule it with me?"

Sheppard smiled back and shook his head, "I can't, my place is with my people."

"I understand. Thank you for all of your help, we will always remember you." She nodded to him and then moved over to talk to the guards who were carrying Otho's body out.

"Colonel Sheppard, it is Teyla. Dr. McKay has just told me there is a massive earthquake about to arrive. He told us to take everyone through the Stargate until it is over."

Sheppard wasn't sure he'd heard that right. "Why didn't Rodney tell me himself?"

"He said he couldn't reach you and wanted me to relay. I am still in the village, but Ronan is handling things here. Do you wish me to come to the Tower to help you?"

"No, I can do it. You stay there. Mara can help me round up everyone here. Sheppard out."

"Mara!" She walked back over to him. "I need your help. There's a big earthquake coming. We are evacuating the village through the Stargate to another world until the danger has passed. I need you to make the announcement and get your people ready to leave immediately."

"Are you sure? We have always been safe here in the Tower."

"Before you had a functioning power source for your chair. Now you don't. You're just as vulnerable as everyone else in the galaxy." Sheppard didn't want to sound cruel but he needed to get the urgency across to her."

"I understand. I will handle it."

Sheppard stepped over just behind the chair and keyed his radio, "Rodney? Rodney can you hear me?" Sheppard had a bad feeling about this. He'd been able to talk to Rodney until a few minutes ago. What had changed? Rodney, come in!"

Nothing, just silence. Sheppard changed channels and called Teyla again. "Teyla, has Rodney gotten back to the village yet?"

"No he has not." Teyla had been so busy helping in the village that she had forgotten that Rodney has said he'd been trapped underground in the earlier earthquake. Suddenly she was very worried. "By the Ancestors," she said to herself and then responded. "He told me he was trapped underground in the earthquake. He did not mention if he had found a way out."

Sheppard knew his gut was right. DAMN IT! "Call him again; see if he's found a way out yet or if we have to go get him. If we do I'll send the people from the Tower to the village and Ronan can take them off world then we can help Rodney."

"Understood." Teyla tried to call Rodney but didn't get a response. "I am unable to reach Dr, McKay."

"Great! Ok people, we really need to get going. I want you to follow Mara to the village and then to the Stargate. I have a friend who needs rescuing, so let's go. Only take what you can carry and remember this will be a long trip so nothing heavy, because no one is carrying it for you when you get tired."

Sheppard was in a hurry to get Mara's people on the move. Normally Rodney would whine and complain about anything slightly bad happening to him. For him to just contacted Teyla and gave instructions, something was very wrong. Sheppard had that feeling in his gut again. Something bad was about to happen to his friend and I didn't like it.

End of Part 1

Feedback is welcome here or by email to laheara2004yahoo.ca.


	2. The Cavein

Part 2 – The Cave-in

Finally the Tower had been evacuated and its inhabitants were meeting the last groups of refugees leaving the village. The villagers were having a hard time calming their animals. Sheppard caught up to Teyla who was carrying a little boy to his waiting father.

Teyla nodded as she passed to boy, "Go, quickly now, your wife and daughter await you at the Ring."

The father hugged his newly returned son, "Thank you."

Teyla turned back around and saw Sheppard. "The evacuation is going well. These are the families who care for the animals, they are the last to leave."

"Good. How much longer?" Sheppard nodded to his teammate and waved the nobles on.

"Not long, they are very organized. It would appear that years of trying to hide from the gaze of the Tower have prepared them for this type of emergency. And the others?" Teyla observed the nobility was loath to help the villagers.

"Well, it's like dealing with a bunch of little kids actually. They're complaining about everything but they're here." Sheppard saw Mara pick up a baby lamb, put it into the arms of one of her reluctant companions and point in the direction of the Gate. "What about Ronan?

Teyla smiled at the look on the face of the man who now held the lamb. "He is making sure everyone gets through. We dialed Rekalia, it is a planet I have visited recently and there is a large open field they can wait in until we return for them. And I have instructed him to warn Atlantis of our situation and to ask Dr. Beckett to join us soon in the event that Dr. McKay is injured."

Sheppard became very sober at the mention of his missing friend. "Have you heard anything from him since our last contact?"

Teyla looked down as they walked in the direction of the valley now that the others were all headed to the Gate. "No, I have not. I am concerned."

Sheppard looked concerned also as they headed into the tree line above the valley where Baldric had taken McKay. "Yeah, me too."

Underground the city groaned and whined under the pressure. The emergency lighting was very faint now. The ray from Rodney's flashlight was the main source of illumination in the room. The air was thick with dust and it was obvious that another collapse had occurred.

Baldric woke first, choking due to his painfully dry throat. He coughed several times and looked around. He saw the flashlight beam and tried to move. He hissed and leaned back again. His right arm was trapped under debris.

"Dr. McKay?" Nothing. "Dr. McKay, can you hear me? You must wake up!" He tried to lean up to see if there was any movement around the light but the pain in his arm quickly made him fall back. Finally he heard a groan. "Dr. McKay! Are you alright?"

Rodney groaned again and snarked without even opening his eyes, "I was unconscious after a cave-in, my head is pounding, I'm trapped underground, and an earthquake is about to destroy this valley any time now. So NO, I'm not ok."

Rodney winced as the sound of his own voice caused his head to hurt even more. He opened his eyes taking in the collapsed room around him. He saw the flashlight not far away and reached for it but something held him back. He tried again but was still unable to move.

Panic gripped him instantly as he realized he was trapped under something. "I… I … OWWW…. I can't move."

"Nor can I. My arm is pinned under something. Are you in pain?"

Rodney rolled his eyes, these people weren't terribly smart. "I would have though the OWWW would have given that away."

The ground began to shake again and dirt started raining down through the hole they had made with the drone. Rodney could no longer see any light from the opening. He and Baldric braced themselves against the shaking.

"Is it starting already?" Baldric yelled to Rodney.

"No, I don't think so." Rodney managed to pull his tablet out from underneath himself and looked at the seismic readings. "No, it's just a foreshock. The big one is still eighteen minutes away." He looked over to the hole again. "But we may have a problem if that shaft is filling up with dirt."

Rodney reached for his ear to key his radio, "Teyla? Teyla? Can you still hear me?"

Teyla and Sheppard had nearly made it to valley. They were making good time now that they were on their own.

Ronan's voice sounded in his ear, "Sheppard, the evacuation is complete. Everyone is through the Gate. I'm waiting for Dr. Beckett and we'll be heading to the valley to meet you."

Sheppard keyed his radio, "Good, Ronan. Get here as soon as possible. If Rodney has been trapped beneath the city we'll need as much help as possible."

They reached the top of ridge looking down into the valley. It was vast and deep. "Do we know where he is down there?" Sheppard asked as he shielded his eyes from the sun.

"One of the villagers instructed me to follow these stone markers down and we will find the opening they would have used to gain access." Teyla walked over to a marker which appeared to be a boulder with several smaller stones stacked on top. It was off to the side of the trail. As they looked ahead, they could see another one several meters down the grassy slope.

"Great, follow the yellow brick road." Sheppard smiled and started carefully down.

"Yellow brick? I do not understand." Teyla questioned as she followed him.

"Or grey, in this case, but same difference. Careful." He looked back and helped her around a rather large stump and saw the confusion in her eyes.

"It's another one of those movie references that we use a lot. The yellow brick road was from 'The Wizard of Oz'. Great movie, saw it in grade 4 and loved the flying monkeys."

Teyla raised an eyebrow, "Flying monkeys?"

"Oh yeah, they were nasty, but the idea was cool. You know I think you'd like it. The Wicked Witch was definitely a Wraith-type character. I'll get the Dadealus to bring the DVD back on its next trip."

Sheppard and Teyla were suddenly thrown against the slope as the ground shook again. Teyla slid down a bit but Sheppard managed to snag her as he grabbed a nearby stump.

When the shaking stopped they looked at each other. All traces of levity disappeared as they were reminded of the seriousness of the situation and how much danger Rodney was in below ground.

Teyla quickly righted herself and held out a hand to Sheppard. "We must hurry."

Sheppard just nodded and they started down the path again using much less caution then before. "Yeah."

"Teyla? Teyla? Can you still hear me?"

They both stopped suddenly and Sheppard hit his radio. "RODNEY!"

Rodney looked up from the tablet and smiled at hearing his friend's voice. "Sheppard! Oh good, you're out of the tower."

"What do you mean?"

"Like I told you before, the city is on emergency power and that's fading fast. The structural integrity field is weakening. The internal status indicators show that the Tower support frame just buckled."

Teyla and Sheppard both looked up but were too far below to see it now. "Rodney, are you hurt?"

Rodney tried to move into a more comfortable position but winced. He didn't feel any pain but the pressure of whatever was holding him down certainly wasn't comfortable. Rodney was about to speak again when the room groaned loudly again and more dirt started falling.

"Baldric is. He can't move his arm. We're both pinned down in the control room and the shaft I made with a drone seems to be buried because I can't see any daylight now."

Sheppard took in the information as he and Teyla continued down the slope. "Ask your friend there how far from the stone path that opening is that you used to get down there."

Rodney shook his head and winced at the sparks it caused in his vision. "No, it won't do you any good. Baldric and I have both been back there to check, there's no way in. The ground up there was already unstable when we entered. It's too risky to come that way."

Sheppard was getting increasingly uneasy now. Rodney hadn't complained once, so far, he was worried about the villager with him and still hadn't answered the question of whether he was hurt.

"Then how far from the stone path is the shaft you made?"

Rodney looked over at the flashlight and tried to reach for it again. He must have shifted slightly because he now managed to reach the edge of it. He pulled at the side of it until it turned enough for him to get a weak grip on it. He pulled it back to him and had to stop to breathe, surprised at how much that had taken out of him. He leaned back and then shone the light in the direction he had heard Baldrics voice coming from.

"Sheppard wants to know how far you think the shaft we made is from the stone path we took down here."

Baldric looked down for a moment and stopped trying to dig himself out. "I would think it is about as far to the east of original opening as it is from the path."

Rodney shuddered. It had taken them nearly ten minutes to get to the first opening and now they were further away. Which made sense, of course, they had walked for a while in the city corridors before getting here.

"It's about fifteen to twenty minutes due east of the end of the path. You'll see a stone, kinda like a well opening and then another few meters past that." McKay panned the light around the room taking in the damage. He was right, there was no further light coming in from the shaft, but it couldn't be completely blocked because he was still able to communicate.

The radio came to life again with Ronan's deep voice, "Sheppard, Major Lorne is preparing a rescue team aboard a jumper now. Dr. Beckett will join then with his equipment. I am heading out now. What is your location?"

Sheppard tapped his radio, "Not really sure, we haven't been paying attention to direction. Tell Beckett to use the life signs detector to find us."

"Dr. McKay, are you both safe for the moment?" Teyla asked.

When he panned the light back across the room Rodney noticed a flash off the floor just in front of him and looked more closely. The light was reflecting off liquid and McKay was momentarily confused what it might be. It took his concussed brain a few seconds to realize that he couldn't feel his legs and suddenly realized what the liquid was.

"Oh no," McKay whispered with a great deal of fear in his voice.

The slight whisper made Sheppard's, Teyla's and Ronan's blood all run cold. Sheppard hit his radio again, "Rodney? Rodney! What's wrong?"

Rodney was mesmerized at the sight of the dark liquid but he managed to whisper an answer, "It's blood."

All three of his friends took off at a dead run for their destinations.

End Part 2

As always feedback is greatly welcome Laheara2004yahoo.ca


	3. The Problem

(Ok it's time for some back story. Yes you are going to have a little longer to see poor Rodney, I'm still figuring everything out there. And I'm playing around with an idea of how the Gates and DHDs work. No idea if it has basis in canon but I need to break things up a bit so if not, oh well, it is in my universe.)

Part 3 – The Problem

On the other side of the Stargate in Atlantis

Weir was standing on the balcony staring at the Stargate. Her lead team was more then thirty minutes late with their scheduled checked in. She had just ordered the Gate open to try to contact the team.

The Stargate spun and then the splash burst forward filling the Gate room with a momentary brilliant blue light. Weir never tired of watching it. It was one of the things that made her instantly fall in love with the Stargate. With her time as leader of the SGC, and now Atlantis, she still found it beautiful but understood the danger that waited just beyond.

Weir walked back to the control room and waited until the Canadian Sergeant nodded to indicate that she could try communications. "This is Weir to Sheppard, can you hear me?"

They waited, but there was no answer. She looked at the Sergeant and he checked the readings. "We are transmitting, they just aren't answering."

"Send the MALP through," she ordered one of the Marines below. He nodded and used the control box to guide the device through the wormhole.

Weir watched it leave Atlantis and looked at the young Canadian again, "It's a good thing the SGC decided to send us a few more of these."

The man smiled and then turned back to his read-out, "It has arrived on the other side."

Suddenly one of the screens on the left side of the control room began to rapidly scroll information. Zelenka stood up and walked over to it with his laptop. He ran the translation from Ancient to English and looked concerned.

Zelenka pushed his glasses up his nose and turned around to discover that Weir was already heading toward him. "We are receiving telemetry from the MALP. It would appear there is a large disturbance in sky."

He pointed to the mounted LCD monitor showing the camera images being transmitted. It showed several yellow dots in the sky heading toward the village where their people were supposed to be.

Zelenka touched the screen and it zoomed in on the area, showing about fifteen drones. "Well, I guess this answers question of if city still has drones."

Suddenly, the drones fell from the sky like dead bugs. Weir looked at Zelenka, "What just happened?"

The Czech scientist studied his readings and answered, "They have lost power. Without direction from what launched them, drones lose power and become inert."

Weir smiled, "I hope that means our people did something to stop that attack." Then, unexpectedly, the Stargate shut down. Weir looked at the Sergeant, "Why is the Gate off?"

"I don't know, the connection was terminated on their end."

"Dr Weir, look at this," Zelenka showed her his laptop. "It would appear the DHD was powered by Zero Point Module in city. When city power went off, so did energy transfer to Gate."

Weir shook her head, "But with every other Stargate we've ever seen, the DHD has its own power source. Why didn't it kick in?"

Zelenka nodded and started speaking again, "You are right, they do, as does this one. However, it seems this one was modified to work with City. Once power is disrupted, DHD takes time to draw enough energy from Gate's capacitors to maintain wormhole."

Weir looked a little worried, "You mean it needs to charge?" Zelenka nodded and set his laptop down anticipating her next question. "How long will that take?"

Zelenka accessed the database and answered, "Approximately twenty to twenty-five minutes."

"If I remember a lecture given by Colonel Carter correctly, don't the Gates draw power from the wormhole itself? Can we contact them again?"

Zelenka nodded, "Indeed they do, but there needs to be an initial contact with the other Stargate. With the DHD charging it won't accept that contact. Their DHD can dial out but we can't dial in."

Weir let out a deep breath. She didn't like being cut off from her people under normal circumstances, but especially not after they had just witnessed an attack. "So all we can do is wait?"

Zelenka shrugged, "Yes, I'm afraid so."

On the Planet Near the Gate

Ronon was accompanying the first group of refugees to the Gate. He was carrying a young child who had been injured playing a few days earlier. As they neared the large ring, Ronon saw the MALP.

He wondered when it had come through and why Atlantis hadn't tried to contact the team. When they reached the DHD, he pulled out a piece of paper that Teyla had drawn the Gate symbols for Rekalia on. The first objective was to get these people off-world. Then to get to the valley and help rescue Rodney. And finally, to get everyone back to Atlantis before the earthquake hit.

The Gate spun to life and he directed everyone to follow him through. They emerged into a large green field surrounded at a distance by trees, just as Teyla had described it.

Ronon gathered the others around him and said, "All right, everyone should start preparing some temporary shelter. We don't know when you'll be able to return home. And keep everyone together here until we come back for you. The people of this planet are friendly. We'll be back to get you when it's safe to return to your world."

Eldred and Petra started to organize the villagers and they were soon setting up pens for the animals that would be coming through shortly. Eldred walked over to Ronon and nodded, "Thank you for all your help."

Ronon nodded and quickly dialed the Gate. He arrived back on the other side moments later and looked around to see more refugees heading his way. He dialed Rekalia again and directed them through.

Now he had some time before the last group of refugees would arrive so he dialed Atlantis. The team has been scheduled to report in over thirty minutes ago and he was surprised Atlantis hadn't dialed back to check on them instead of sending a MALP. He looked again at the device as he waited for the chevrons to lock and then pressed the center of the DHD.

The Gate splashed toward him, he tapped his radio, "Atlantis, this is Ronon."

In Atlantis

Weir was sitting in her office, her mind spinning over all the worst case scenarios that could be happening to her team on the other side of the Gate. Twice in the last ten minutes she had ordered the Gate technicians to try to connect to the planet but each time it had failed.

Zelenka was working on a theory that might help speed up the charging process by giving the DHD some extra power through hooking the MALP to it. Also connecting to the Atlantis Gate would give it a great deal of power. Zelenka was explaining this to Weir when the Gate started spinning.

Weir and Zelenka jumped to their feet and ran into the Control room with hopeful expressions on their faces. The wormhole engaged and everyone in the Control room held their breath.

"Atlantis, this Ronon."

Everyone seemed to exhale at the same time. Zelenka smiled and an instant later he was sitting in front of his laptop doing the final calculations to tell Ronon how to set up the MALP.

"Yes we hear you Ronon. It's good to hear your voice," Weir said, not bothering to hide the relief in her tone.

"I found a MALP beside the Gate, but I didn't hear you contact us. Is something wrong?"

"Yes, we dialed in to find out why none of you had checked in. It seems the Village is just beyond communication range so we sent it through to extend the transmission distance. We saw a drone attack on the Village. Is everyone all right?" Weir sounded worried.

"Yes, McKay managed to stop the attack by draining the last of the power from the ZPM. Then we found out that an earthquake is going to hit this whole area very soon. McKay and one of the villagers are trapped underground in a buried part of the city. We need a rescue team, Beckett and a Jumper to get him out."

"Understood, I'll have a team on the way as soon as they can get ready. For now, I need you to follow Dr. Zelenka's instructions. Stand by." Zelenka took over as Weir turned away to begin rescue preparations. "Major Lorne, this is Weir. I want your team suited up and in the Jumper Bay waiting for Dr. Beckett ASAP. You're going on a rescue mission."

Lorne's voice came back right away, "Understood, we're on our way."

"Dr. Beckett, I need you and a medical team to report to the Jumper Bay right away. Rodney and possibly one other person could be injured off-world. You'll meet Major Lorne's at the Jumper."

"I'm on my way, Elizabeth." Beckett answered and she could hear him sigh with worry. "Do we know who they were injured?"

"In a cave-in, according to Ronon." Weir answered.

Beckett thought a few moments and began giving ordering to his people. "We'll need some time, Elizabeth."

Weir frowned, "As soon as you can, Carson."

Carson shook his head, "Aye."

She turned back to Zelenka and found he was already finished explaining the set up to Ronon. She nodded at the Sergeant to reconnect her and he nodded. "Ronon, Major Lorne is going to lead the rescue team, but it's going to take a little while before Dr. Beckett will be ready. How far are you from Rodney's location?"

"The valley is closer than the village. I can be there in less then ten minutes if I run. Sheppard and Teyla are heading there as soon as they get the village and Tower evacuated." They heard background noise and then Ronon started talking again, "In fact the last group has just arrived here. It will take five minutes to Gate them to the evacuation planet once the Gate is shut down."

Weir wondered what Tower he was talking about but didn't have the time to ask now. "Very well, we'll try to dial you back in seven minutes. If nothing happens in eight minutes, hook the MALP up and we'll dial as soon as we can."

On the Planet

"Understood." Ronon deactivated the Gate and dialed Rekalia again. Finally the animals, their handlers and the nobles were through and he was told by a villager that that was all of them.

Ronon decided that he'd better report that everyone was off the planet now. He picked the right channel and spoke, "Sheppard, the evacuation is complete. Everyone is through the Gate. I'm waiting for Dr. Beckett and we'll be heading to the valley to meet you."

Sheppard keyed his radio, "Good, Ronon. Get here as soon as possible. If Rodney has been trapped under the city we'll need as much help as possible."

Ronon changed the channel back and folded his arms over his chest as he impatiently paced in front of the Stargate. Ronon was not good at waiting, he wanted to be doing something. With one of his team members in danger, he wanted to be helping. After what felt like far longer then two minutes, he figured that Atlantis wasn't able to dial in so he started hooking up the MALP. He had just finished when he felt a tremor hit.

He was doing the final checks Zelenka had insisted on when he again changed channels and keyed his radio, "Sheppard, Major Lorne is preparing a rescue team and a jumper now. Dr. Beckett will join them with his equipment. I am heading out now. What is your location?"

Sheppard tapped his radio, "Not really sure, we haven't been paying attention to direction. Tell Beckett to use the life signs detector to find us."

Ronon just started moving towards the valley anyway. He was about to remind the Colonel that Beckett wasn't there yet when he heard Teyla's voice. He realized they must have been talking to McKay.

"Dr. McKay, are you both safe for the moment?" Teyla asked.

Ronon didn't hear anything and assumed he was only getting one side of the conversation. He had reached a point where he could see the village in the distance. He looked for the most likely angle that his friends would have taken to enter the valley and headed in that direction.

Then finally he heard McKay's soft and very scared voice, "Oh no." The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he hesitated a moment and then quickened his pace.

Ronon heard Sheppard's voice again, "Rodney? Rodney! What's wrong?"

McKay whispered an answer, "It's blood."

Ronon pelted down the side of the valley. Rodney might be what Sheppard called a "pain in the ass," but he was a friend. One of the first that Ronon had made after seven years of running from the Wraith and he wasn't prepared to lose him now.

End Part 3

So what did you think? Looking forward to the feedback as always. And yes we're back to Rodney in Par 4.


	4. The Fall

(Thanks to all those who kept hounding me to continue this story. Sorry it got abandoned back in April but lots of other stuff was going on. I'm working on it again now, so you'll be seeing lots more of it soon. Lots of love to my beta, ashanome. Well, here ya go.)

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**Part 4 – The Fall**

Ronon picked up the pace and finally reached the top of the valley. He could see Sheppard and Teyla below. The ground seemed very unsteady beneath his feet. He approached his friends from an angle not wanting to run over the deep gash in the ground between him and them.

"Sheppard, this is Ronon. There is a big rift has opened in the valley. You need to be careful down there." Ronon pushed past a large bush on his way down the slope.

Sheppard looked up, trying to catch a glimpse of Ronon, but didn't see him. Sheppard knew the Gate was South of them, but Ronon wasn't there. It would be nice to know how close this rift was. "This is Sheppard. What direction are you coming from?"

"Southwest of your position. I'm going around the rift." Ronon said.

John looked around and saw his friend coming down a steep part of the slope to his right. Ronon's route would cut off some of the path he and Teyla had taken. Which would get him to them sooner. "Why didn't you wait for the Jumper?"

Ronon was now on the valley floor coming towards them at a good speed. "I got impatient. I thought there might be something here I could help with since they're going to be a few minutes."

"Well you're right. Rodney hasn't answered me since he said there was blood on the floor. I checked the detector and there is an open section of corridor right below us here. We should be able to climb down with our gear and find a way to the control room they're in. We should stay on radio when you arrive. The chatter will help the Jumper find us and tell them what's happening."

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**Back in Atlantis**

"Major Lorne, this is Weir. Is your team assembled?"

It took a few second but then she heard his voice, "Yes ma'am. We're ready to go as soon as Dr. Beckett arrives."

The radio crackled again, "You'll not be waitin' long fer me son. Ah'm just outside the Jumper Bay now. Be lovely if ye could send a couple o' yer men to help with me supplies."

"Understood Doc. Bent! Matthews! Help the Doc." Lorne ordered.

Weir waited a few seconds and then touched her ear-piece again. "Can I assume the rescue party will be ready to leave in a couple minutes?"

Major Lorne answered, "Yes ma'am. It won't take long to get the Doc aboard."

In spite of Dr. Zelenka assurances, the entire control room was quiet as they waited to see if they would be able to dial the planet.

Elizabeth could see that Zelenka was thinking about something besides dialing the Gate again. She put a hand on his shoulder and looked down at the fidgeting man. "Is something wrong Dr. Zelenka?"

Zelenka twisted his hands several times and then looked up at her as he stood and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. "I should be going with them. If something has happened to Rodney, they may need engineer there to help control whatever reaction submerged city is creating to cause this earthquake."

Weir looked at him closely. He was shaking slightly and was no longer meeting her eyes. It was obvious he was scared. His reaction reminded her of when she and Sheppard had asked him to go in the rescue Jumper to work on the shields. He had reluctantly agreed to go after her emotional blackmail about Rodney needing his help.

Weir said in a whisper heard only by the two of them. "Radek, I can tell you are very worried, but are you sure you want to do this."

As he pulled on his jacket, Zelenka looked up and nodded, "I am. You were right before. If Rodney can't count on me to help him out, then who can he? Since Duranda he has started listening to me great deal more. Is very strange but I think I can help. Please, Dr. Weir."

Weir gave him another once over. His hands were now in his pockets and he looked resolute. "Alright. Be careful."

"I will, thank you." Zelenka turned and headed for the stairs to the Jumper Bay.

Weir watched him go as she touched her radio, "Major Lorne, you have one more passenger on his way. Dr Zelenka is going with you."

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**On the Planet**

Ronon arrived beside Sheppard and Teyla and looked down. "This hole looks recent."

"Very recent." Teyla said with an air of worry about her.

Sheppard nodded, "Yeah, it just fell in while we were standing here."

Ronon looked around. "This whole area doesn't feel right."

Then suddenly a new voice, from the radio, entered the discussion. "That could be because this whole valley is going to cave in and we'll all die in a few minutes when that big quake hits."

Sheppard, Ronon and Teyla all smiled in relief at finally hearing their friend's voice.

"Rodney! Are you okay?" Sheppard asked intently.

"As well as I could be considering that I've been buried underground in a room beside an emergency generator that is giving off enough vibrations to activate the fault lines in this valley and cause a 10.0 earthquake." Rodney snarked back.

His three friends on the surface smiled. He must be okay for the moment if he was complaining. Sheppard and Ronon worked on setting up the climbing gear to get down into the hole. Teyla walked closer to the shaft that Rodney had made earlier using a drone.

"Rodney, if it's the generator that's causing the earthquakes, can't you shut it down from the control room you're in?" Sheppard asked.

McKay signed at the stupid question. "If I could turn it off don't you think I would have done so by now? Normally I'd be able to from here, but I'm buried against the back wall and the console I need is on the opposite side of the room. So nothing's getting turned off until either I can move or someone gets down here to do it for me." Rodney yelled, but then they heard a painful groan as he stopped to breathe.

The groan was not lost on his friends. Teyla eyed her two teammates and they all realized that time was running out, one way or another. "Ronon and Colonel Sheppard are working on coming down there to find you."

"Yes, yes, I heard their plan over the radio. I also heard Ronon say there was a rift in the valley where he was. How far from here would you say that was Ronon? I can do some more accurate calculations if I have more information."

Ronon glanced briefly over his shoulder and mentally calculated the distance to this point in McKay's metric units that he always preferred. "I'd say about 160 meters."

Sheppard looked up at the comment and looked at where he had seen Ronon first and added himself. "Yeah, likely about 170 yards."

Teyla then asked, "Dr. McKay, you said there was blood on the floor."

"Yes, I did and there's more of it all the time. But that won't affect my and Baldric's survival if we all die in a few minutes in an earthquake." This time his answer was breathless, as if what ever pain had caused the groan hadn't subsided yet.

Teyla could tell that McKay was scared but he was pushing it away as long as he had something to do. She admired his determination and his courage at a time like this. "Understood."

"Alright, I've got my tablet running the numbers on the quake given when the last tremor was and where the nearest fault line is. In the meantime, I've gone over the maps of this section of the passages. If you found an opening that was recently caved-in then you are to the east of where I climbed down and that puts you about ten meters due south of me. That area is near Drone Storage so it should be extra reinforced like the control room I'm in. You'll have to be careful getting here though, especially if we have another tremor."

Sheppard was ready to start climbing down when McKay finished. "Got it. Ronon and I are nearly ready to come down. We'll have you out of there in no time." He tossed the end of the rope to Ronon who secured it and threw it down the hole.

"Colonel Sheppard, this is Lorne. We will be at your position in less than five minutes. Sir, you should consider waiting for us so we can provide backup."

"Lorne! Good to hear your voice. Would love to wait, but we don't have the time. I assume that Beckett is with you?" Sheppard inquired.

"Aye, ah am, Colonel. We're using the life signs detector to track yer position. We also have Radek ta help us with tha rescue down in those tunnels and keep an eye on that earthquake. Has anythin' changed since Ronon contacted us?" Beckett's unmistakable voice answered.

"Not really. Rodney and a villager are still stuck in the cave-in underneath the valley. Ronon and I are ready to climb down and find them. Rodney did say there is a lot of blood on the floor, it's unclear if it's from him or the villager or both."

Beckett took in all the facts and started working compression injury scenarios in his head. Then he muttered to himself, "Oh my." This got a disturbed look from Lorne beside him.

Teyla was looking in the direction she knew the Stargate to be in and hoped the Jumper would arrive soon.

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**Underground**

Rodney was panting for breath and sweating a great deal as he breathed through the pain with his eyes squeezed shut. Finally, the extreme pain in his legs finally started to ease. A large piece of rubble dislodged and added even more pressure to his legs when he raised himself up a bit to try and see the map on far wall to give Sheppard directions.

Baldric was watching his companion and when it seemed Rodney would be able to speak again he said, "I've got my legs free now. If I can pull my arm loose I can help you."

McKay's head shot up and he grimaced at the movement, but managed to shout. "NO!"

On the surface his friends froze for a second. Then Sheppard demanded. "Rodney? What was that?"

Rodney shook his head, but regretted it immediately. "Nothing to do with you. Baldric is trying to dig himself out." Then he turned his attention back to the man with him but didn't turn off his radio. "Look, we don't really know how bad either of us is hurt. If those slabs are putting enough pressure on your arm you may not even feel that you're hurt. That blood is coming from somewhere, and while I'm sure some of it is mine, I'm not light-headed enough yet for it to be all mine. Now just sit tight, my friends will be here soon."

Beckett then confirmed Rodney's assessment. "Rodney's right; neither o' them should be movin' at the moment."

McKay snapped his fingers and pointed at Baldric. "Ha, see, our doctor, Carson, just backed me up, shocking as it may be. So don't move, you don't want him lecturing you, trust me, and the needles…"

Beckett smiled at his friend's attempt to lighten the moment. However, the 'shocking as it may be' part didn't escape him and he frowned. He'd have to talk to Rodney about that when they were all safe back on Atlantis. Beckett had a feeling the word 'friends', was also not lost on Sheppard. There was a lot of healing that still needed to be done between them all since Duranda.

McKay was about to say something else when his computer began beeping so loudly they could all hear it over the radios. The scientist's hands flew over the little on-screen keyboard and then he turned white.

"No, no, no, NO! Sheppard! Ronon! Get away from the hole! There's a strong shock coming, it'll cause instability in the sinkhole again. MOVE!" McKay yelled.

Unfortunately, his friends didn't have enough warning before the ground began to shake and dirt started pouring into the hole beneath them. Sheppard had already started down the safety line and grabbed unto it even tighter. "Oh hell, Teyla STAY BACK!"

Ronon lunged forward to try and pull Sheppard out but the ground beneath his feet crumbled away and he fell. Sheppard reached out and snagged the runner by the collar as he slid by him. The strain on his arm and shoulder was incredible and he screamed in pain. The trunk they had tied the rope to also fell into the hole as it widened and suddenly Sheppard and Ronon were falling.

Teyla cringed at the scream and yelled. "Colonel!"

McKay heard it also and looked up and yelled himself. "Sheppard! Ronon!"

As he fell Sheppard called, "Teyla stay back! The rope let go, we're falling…." Then the line crackled and went dead.

Major Lorne and the people on the Jumper were all staring at the HUD as two of the life sign dropped below the surface to land not far from the two others. The life sign on the surface stayed still.

Finally the shaking stopped and McKay sat wide-eyed in terror, listening to see if his friends reported in. Then he raised a shaking hand to his mic and he asked in an equally shaking voice, "Sheppard? Ronon?"

Teyla pushed herself back to her feet and walked as close to the hole as she dared. There was still soil and dirt sliding into it and she could see the small stump which the rope had been tied had pulled loose. "The Colonel and Ronon have fallen nearly the whole length of the shaft. It is to dark for me to see them."

Rodney's quick brain prompted him to call the Jumper. "Carson! Lorne! What does the HUD show? Are they alive?"

Lorne looked at Beckett who was studying the display intently. Zelenka was hovering between Lorne and Beckett, looking at the readings from the building pressure before the quake.

"Ah can't tell for certain yet, but ah am picking up readings for them both. Looks like they were injured in the fall though." Beckett reported.

Zelenka cleared his throat and touched his radio now. "The large earthquake that will destroy this valley is now ten minutes away. Unless we can deactivate that generator."

End Part 4

(OK, so to recap, Rodney is still alive and snarking, Teyla is safe, Shep and Ronon are in a world of hurt after that fall, Radek joined the rescue team and the Jumper is inbound, with the BIG ONE 10 mins away.  Are we having fun yet?

Just so you don't worry about being left without a part for another few months, don't. I'm working on part 5 as I send this part to my beta. As always reviews are greatly loved.)


	5. The Tragedy

Author's Note: I do have to put a warning on this one, just in case. There is some pretty nasty stuff near the end. May not agree with weak stomachs. Also some very emotional stuff. Consider this your warning.

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Part 5 – The Tragedy

When Sheppard regained consciousness, it took him a moment to remember where he was. There were none of the familiar beeps and chatter of the Atlantis infirmary. The air was dusty and stale, like nothing had breathed it for ages. He pried open his eyes expecting a bright, overhead light but found nothing. Not entirely nothing: there was faint blue seeping into the darkness above him. He could hear the sound of soil and pebbles falling nearby and dust it stirred up around him made him cough.

Then it all came back to him: securing the climbing line, the quake, catching Ronon and falling. The memory of the crack and the white pain in his arm and shoulder were enough to make him moan and he hadn't even tried moving yet. He looked around for his P90 but didn't see it. He felt for the small flashlight he always kept in his Tac Vest and hoped it wasn't broken. He found it, pulled it out and turned it on as he took in his surroundings.

Apart from the dark and dampness it looked very much like a corridor in Atlantis. It made sense if this was a cityship like Atlantis. His first priority was to find Ronon. He aimed the light along the floor looking for his friend but found nothing. He widened the search area but still nothing. Getting worried he started to pull himself into a sitting position and called, "Ronon?"

But the sound was barely more then a whisper as he instantly winced at the pain the movement caused him. Then he saw a small light, not unlike his own, coming toward him. "Easy, you're hurt and you've been out for a couple minutes."

"Ronon, are you alright?" Sheppard asked looking the man over as he raised a hand to shield his eyes from the light.

Ronon got down on his haunches with Sheppard's missing weapon lying against his right knee. "Thanks to you. You broke my fall. I found your gun and used the flashlight on it to try to find a path to where McKay is."

Sheppard grimaced again but managed a full sitting position without disturbing his shoulder too much. "And did you find one?"

"Not yet. I described our location to McKay and he is looking it up in the city maps." Ronon sat down in front of Sheppard and wiped the dust from his face as he gave a small cough.

Sheppard nodded. "So the Jumper and Teyla and McKay all know we're not dead."

Ronon smiled. "They knew anyway. Beckett saw our life signs on the Jumper's HUD."

Ronon looked at the arm Sheppard cradled. "That's my fault. You shouldn't have grabbed for me."

Sheppard looked up at his friend. "Are you kidding? If I hadn't, you'd be the one sitting here with broken bones or worse."

Ronon looked up at the hole they'd fallen through. It had grown with the added rock that had collapsed in this second quake. "Well, on the bright side. We should be able to get McKay, his friend and the drones out of here through that hole now."

The other man followed his gaze and sized up the hole. "Yeah, it really got bigger in that last one. Well that's one problem solved."

Then the silence of the room was broken by McKay's excited voice. "I've got it! I know where you are on the map now, Ronon. Is Sheppard awake yet? Are you sure he's ok? That must have been a nasty fall you two had. And I didn't like the sound of his scream. It can't be good that he's still unconscious. Beckett, how far away are you guys? Sheppard might need you."

Sheppard smiled at the famous McKay rambling. He seemed incapable of saying just one thing. His speech mirrored his busy mind as he blurted out multiple thoughts. It was one of the things Sheppard found amusing about his friend.

"Yes, I'm awake, and, yes, I'm ok, Rodney, sort of." Sheppard winced as he answered.

Hearing Sheppard's voice allowed McKay to finally relax a little, which relieved some of the pressure on his body. McKay's hands on the tablet rested and he let his head hang in relief, taking a deep breath, before he murmured. "Oh, thank god. What do you mean 'sort of'?"

Sheppard frowned and shrugged with his other shoulder. Ronon tapped his radio and reported. "He seems to have a dislocated shoulder and a small break in his lower arm."

McKay continued. "Breaking with tradition are we, Colonel? Isn't the gossip in the city that you're indestructible?"

Now Sheppard laughed as he cradled his hurt arm. "I wish I was sometimes."

Beckett took this break in conversation to jump in. "Colonel, Beckett here. Is it a normal break or are ye bleeding?"

Sheppard looked at his arm but there was no blood on it. Just the gash on his forehead where he had hit a rock when he landed. "No, it's not but my head is. Little cut there, nothing to worry about."

Beckett snorted. "I'll take that to mean it's a large gash that likely needs stitches and is bleeding a great deal."

McKay snarked. "Very likely, Carson, you know him."

"Hey! I'm right here, people." Sheppard protested.

"Aye, ah do Rodney. Like ah know ye and why ye aren't complainin' up a mighty storm." Beckett said.

McKay was about to answer when a loud grinding sound was heard. "What was that?" He sounded confused as he looked around. Then a low whisper, "Oh, no."

Beckett and Sheppard both froze as they listened. Beckett asked, "Rodney? What's the matter?"

Then Sheppard heard a loud crack followed by a rumble coming from a distance to his right. "Sounds like something is collapsing. There may be another cave-in in the control room." Then Sheppard's blood ran cold as he heard a scream in the distance which wasn't coming from his radio. "Oh, God."

Beckett, unable to hear the sounds, asked. "What? What is it, Colonel?"

"A scream." Sheppard said as he listened intently.

"Was it Rodney?" Teyla asked from the surface.

"I couldn't tell." Sheppard answered. He looked up as Ronon started towards the door. "Ronon, no! McKay said the corridors are dangerous. We have to wait until the tremors are over."

Zelenka jumped in. "Yes. If Rodney was correct and you are near drone storage you are somewhat protected. But the halls between two rooms are not so. You must wait until shaking stops."

Ronon slapped his radio. "McKay or the villager could be dead if we wait."

"You won't do them any good if you die too, Ronon," Beckett reminded him.

Sheppard raised his voice to interrupt the chatter. "Just everyone shut up for a few seconds so I can hear what's going on down here…. Rodney, can you hear me?"

As ordered, everyone shut up and listened. When no reply came, Sheppard grew more concerned for his friend. "Cone on, Rodney."

After the shaking stopped Ronon took off in the direction of the scream. Unfortunately he was stopped by a wall of rubble. "It's blocked. I can't get to them. Not without a lot of help."

Sheppard tried again. "Rodney? Rodney, answer me. Rodney?"

In the Control Room

Hearing his name, McKay pushed himself back toward awareness and tried to figure out what had just happened. The room was full of dust and a few small fires had started in the equipment panels. There was even more debris around him now. He coughed as he tried to clear the dust and rocks off his tablet. It was dark but he touched a button and it flickered back to life. "Oh good."

Rodney groped for the flashlight that had rolled nearly beyond his grasp but managed to snag it. It was still on and caused a creepy silhouette effect against some large objects close to him and the dust around them. Then he remembered. He looked over in time to see a large section of wall beginning to crumble and a console mounted to it pull away. As it's lights flickered and died as he said "Oh, no."

The console and monitor were suddenly in pieces on the floor in front of him and then the wall collapsed. The rock shattered into several large, jagged chunks that littered the floor between him and the forward wall. He looked at where the wall used to be, hoping for an opening into the generator room or the corridor outside. All he saw was another support wall with a few holes in it, but nothing big enough to climb through.

The one good thing about the recent collapse was that it hadn't added to his injuries. It has, however, increased dust in the air making it harder to breathe. After assessing his own body he turned to his companion. "Baldric? Are you ok? Looks like one of the back walls came down on us. Big mess, but I'm ok. What about you? Baldric?"

McKay waited for a few beats but got no answer. He assumed the man had been knocked out and hadn't regained consciousness yet. So he decided to check his radio. Touching the switch he asked, "Sheppard? Ronon? Teyla? Beckett? Anyone?"

To his surprise they all answered at the same time with a resounding, "Rodney!"

McKay grimaced at the loud voices in his ear. "Thank you! I really needed to be temporarily deafened right now."

Sheppard looked up and smiled at Ronon as he reentered the room. "Sorry, Rodney, but you had us a little worried there. The rumbling and all."

McKay coughed again. "Yes, one of the walls in here collapsed. Some of the equipment was smashed. Bit of a light show and lots of noise. I must have been hit by something because I was out for a few seconds but I'm fine now."

Beckett listened and frowned. He didn't like the fact that McKay had lost consciousness even for the few seconds between their communications. He was injured enough with the bleeding and debris on his legs. He didn't need a serious head wound to go along with it.

Sheppard asked again as he shakily got to his feet with Ronon's help. "Rodney, you said you knew where we were. Give us directions to get to you and that generator room."

Rodney pulled the tablet closer to himself and pulled up the city map of the area he'd found before. "Right, I'm on it. I'm just looking to see if there have been any more collapses that will get in your way."

"Well, we do have some good news. The hole Ronon and I fell through has enlarged to a good size. We can get the Jumper to lower some lines and a couple gurneys to lift all of us out. Then they can come back for the drones." Sheppard reported.

Major Lorne answered. "Yes sir. That is good news. We'll start setting up the winch and getting ready to pull you out, sir. Doc?"

"Aye, ah'm on it. Wright, help me with this, love." Beckett and his nurse pulled the needed medical supplies out of the storage wracks as Lorne's men and the Marines set up the portable winch and lines.

McKay's voice was heard again. "Ok. Looks like the way I found originally is blocked now. But there is another route. It's a little more round-about, but you'll get to the generator room first. Head right out your door to the end of that corridor. Then go left at the T and you'll come to a transporter. Pull the middle crystal from the door controls and take it to the next door that you'll find mid-corridor. According to this read-out, that door's crystal is blown. Replace it and you should be able to get through. That corridor will lead you straight to the generator room next to me. Like I said before, these passages are old and dangerous. Be careful and watch out for damaged equipment that might explode or something."

Sheppard and Ronon were already moving. "We know the drill, Rodney. This is not our first rescue mission."

"Hmm, just make sure it's not 'our' last one." McKay shot back.

Beckett stopped for a moment and stood. "Colonel, ye're plannin' to run through dusty halls with a dislocated shoulder a broken arm? Have you at least immobilized it to avoid further injury?"

"Yes, Doc, I have. And Ronon put the shoulder back place already and he made me a sort of sling." Sheppard said running his hand over the fabric of the sling as he moved.

"Ah." Beckett was concerned, but he could do nothing at the moment. "Well done Ronon, lad."

Zelenka broke in. "Gentlemen, I hate to interrupt, but we are down now to six and a half minutes until the quake. Tremors will be starting very soon. You must hurry."

Rodney pulled up the timer he had started on his own computer and confirmed that. "Crap, he's right."

"Okay. We're set up here," Beckett said as he did another once-over of the equipment and the rescue gear the Marines had set up.

Major Lorne reported. "Colonel, we'll be over your original location in about two minutes. We'll open the hatch and lower the lines at your order."

"Thank you, Major." Sheppard answered.

Beckett then remember Rodney's companion. "Rodney, how is yer friend down there?"

McKay didn't look up as he was tracking the progress of Sheppard and Ronon. "He was knocked out in the collapse and hasn't come to yet."

Beckett nodded. "Well, when he does, ask him to describe his injuries to ye."

Sheppard remembered the scream. "Yeah, something must have landed on him from the sound of that scream he gave. Can you reach him to check on him, Rodney?"

That caught McKay's attention. "Scream? What scream?"

"Just after you said 'oh, no' Ronon and I heard a loud scream from your direction. I couldn't tell if it was you or him, but I'm guessing now that it was him. Whatever happened it must have really hurt." Sheppard grimaced at the memory.

"Carson, is it safe to nudge his leg to wake him up? He did say he had them uncovered and I saw him move his right one." McKay asked.

Beckett considered for a moment. "If he was already moving them, yes it should be ok. But if he moans, stop."

"Of course. Baldric? It's Rodney, can you hear me?" McKay picked up a long blunt piece of debris and nudged the other man's leg. When he got no response, he picked up the flashlight and pointed it toward the man. The light flashed off the floor and reflected on a few panel pieces a little higher up. Rodney raised the light in that direction and he went pale as a sheet and choked in horror. "Oh God!"

Everyone was waiting. Teyla asked softly, not sure she wanted to know the answer. "Rodney? What is it?"

McKay swallowed hard a few times and followed the light up Baldric body. A large sharp piece of the metal console had splintered off and impaled Baldric in the chest. It had still had glass in it which had fallen and embedded itself into the skin of his face and upper body. He must not have died immediately because there was a lot of blood pooled around Baldric.

McKay started shaking uncontrollably. "It… must have happened… when I was out." The light showed Baldric's face and his open eyes. They were turned in Rodney's direction as if he had been pleading with McKay to help him when he died. McKay froze. Then he started whispering. "I didn't know. I swear I didn't know. I'm sorry. Oh, god, I'm sorry for bringing you down here. I should never have made you come."

Beckett could tell by the sound of his voice that McKay was about to panic. "Rodney, listen to me. There was nothing ye could have done to help him. This wasn't yer fault." He turned his mic off and looked at Lorne. "Can ye make this thing go faster."

Sheppard jumped in. "Rodney, Carson is right. You couldn't have helped him. You're trapped too. He knew that. He didn't blame you, Rodney."

McKay just shook his head not believing any of them. He turned the flashlight around to check his surroundings again. The large chunks of wall near him seemed to be coming closer to him. He could almost hear the grating sound of them moving. The room seemed to be getting smaller. He couldn't breathe. Then the light flashed over the blood on the floor. It was coming towards him too. It was about to soak him. He felt like he was going to drown in it. "No, no, no, no. It's coming toward me. It's all moving. I can't breathe. The room is collapsing. Noooo! I'm scared. I don't want to die. I don't want to die!"

Beckett clicked his radio back on. "Colonel, it sounds like he's havin' a panic attack. His claustrophobia and the trauma of what just happened are probably too much for him. You have to get to him before he hurts himself further."

"We're at the transporter now." There was silence for a few seconds then Sheppard continued. "We have the crystal; we're heading to the closed door."

Teyla asked. "Dr. Beckett? What can we say to help calm him down until Colonel Sheppard and Ronon reach him?"

"Ah'm afraid not much gets through a panic attack. Hopefully he'll work himself up and pass out. Even if he did, his current physical condition has me concerned. Ah need ta see him, as soon as possible." Beckett sounded more worried than they had heard him in a long time. More than anything that worried the others.

Major Lorne checked the HUD to confirm his location. "Colonel Sheppard, this is Lorne. We're at the location of the sinkhole. I'm awaiting your orders."

Sheppard looked at his watch as the first of the small tremors leading to the big one started to shake the ruins. "Damn, it's starting. Zelenka are you going to be able to talk us through deactivating this generator? And will it stop the quake now that we're so close?"

Zelenka was already working on his laptop. "Yes, to both questions. I have linked to Rodney's tablet and have access to the city's systems. When you deactivate the generator, I will have the Major send a pulse out from the Jumper to stabilize the area. Please hurry, Colonel, we are now down to four minutes until the quake and structural readings down there are becoming critical."

Everyone could tell Zelenka was not only worried about the time remaining before the quake but also about helping to get McKay and the rest of them all out safely.

End Part 5

As promised, here is the next part without much waiting. Much love goes to ashanome who put a rush on this beta after the response on the list. Thanks to the reviewers again.

Kam, you were my first review on part 4 you must be on alert. Yes, Rodney must talk.

Silverthreads, yes it's back.

Krys, hehe does happy snooy dance too, whump is the thing we love. Me thinks you are alert too. LOL

Kiara, well not an hour but close enough, hope you survived.

Rebekah78, well now you got a version.

Terri, that's for your enthusiasm to repost and your review.

Sablecain, thanks and love to see yours when it's done, remember my offer. 

Ellex, glad you enjoyed the reread and yes tension and excitement is what I'm going for.

Melifoo, glad you found it again, and you're get the rest soon.

Nebbyjen, thanks for your review and help with Jumperbay.

And in answer to fischergirl from way back in part 1, yes I did 2 Atlantis city videos (one to Josh Groban, and one to JLo) about a year ago. They are on Illman's streamload page for viewing. I'm planning a new city vid now with the shots from Progeny and Common Ground.

Sorry to say it may be a few days until the next one. Family visiting, messing me PC time up. But I'll try.

Laheara


	6. The Big Quake

Author Note: Ok, ah, yeah it's been over a year since I last updated this story. But I'm trying to make myself go back and finish my old stories and this was the first one to get looked at and done. So you likely need to go back and read the other 5 parts to understand what is happening here in the end.

* * *

Part 6 – The Big Quake

Teyla looked up as she saw the Jumper finally approaching. It hovered over the sinkhole and the hatch opened. A rope appeared and Lorne's voice came through her comm. "Teyla, we just lowered you a line. If Dr. McKay is right about how bad this quake could be it would be safer for you to be up here with us."

Sheppard and Ronon were listening while they placed the crystal was in the door. It slowly whined open a crack. They pushed it the rest of the way and both scanned the corridor with their lights for dangers. Satisfied that they had seen all the potential hazards, they started down the corridor. Sheppard was holding his arm close to his chest and was moving a little slower than normal so he waved Ronon ahead.

Sheppard touched his earpiece and spoke. "Teyla, they're right, the tremors are starting and you don't want to fall down here with us. Go to the Jumper."

Teyla took one last look at the hole and sighed. "Very well." She took the line and fitted the supports around her legs then waved for them to bring her up.

A few seconds later Lorne reported. "Sir, Teyla is aboard and safe and Dr. Zelenka has entered the information for pulse that will stabilize the valley once you deactivate the generator."

"Thank you, Major. We're getting close. We can feel the vibrations Rodney was talking about." Sheppard saw Ronon stop at a door a short distance ahead.

The room was lit by the blue glow of the emergency lights so Ronon turned off Sheppard's P90 light. He sized up the room and saw the red and black generator in the center. There was a large amount of debris around it and dust was filtering through the entire room as the supports shook from the strain.

"Zelenka this is Ronon. I'm at the generator room now. It looks pretty bad there are things hanging everywhere and everything is shaking. One whole side of the thing is covered by a big piece of wall; looks like it might be from the one that collapsed on McKay's side." Ronon stepped inside as Sheppard finally joined him also turning off his light.

Sheppard looked in the direction of the hole in the wall and checked the path to see if he could get there. "I see the hole Rodney told us about but it's not a clear way into the Control Room. There is a second support wall still partially standing."

Teyla looked at Zelenka who was doing something on this laptop. "Dr. Zelenka did you not say that you were connected to Rodney's computer. Can you find another way into the Control Room from where Ronon and the Colonel are now?"

Zelenka looked up at her and nodded quickly typing a new command into the laptop. The display changed and he linked his computer to the Jumper to display the image on the HUD. "I have many things to do to talk them through the deactivation, but here is the map."

Teyla nodded and she and Major Lorne looked at the detailed map. As McKay had said, it showed collapsed areas and possible danger zones to avoid as well as the floor plan of the area. Lorne pointed to a section on the screen and Teyla nodded. "Colonel, if you can safely make it to the back of the room on the left there is a large bulkhead door that leads to the Control Room. It appears to have been damaged, but you may be able to push it open and gain access. However it is showing many small fires on the other side."

"OK, Teyla, I'm on it. Zelenka, Ronon is ready for you to talk him through this thing with the Generator. I'm going after McKay." Sheppard started stepping very carefully over and around debris as he kept and eye out for trouble in the room. Ronon went and stood next to the device.

Zelenka touched his radio. "OK, Ronon, you need to find a console with large line of clear crystals that should be glowing blue. There are 5 dials below these. You must slowly turn each dial counter-clockwise one at a time in sequence and tell me what color crystal light appears as you turn them."

Ronon stepped around to another side and found the area described. "OK, I'm turning the first one now."

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In the meantime Sheppard had made it to the other side of the room. Luckily, although the door was damaged a large section of wall had crumbled away from the side of it creating enough space to let him squeeze into the Control Room. He held his arm as he stood up again and flicked on his flashlight. He was about to step forward when he looked at the floor in front of him and quickly threw himself back against the door. "Crap!"

Ronon looked up just as he was turning the third dial; the crystals were still glowing blue. "Sheppard? What's wrong?"

"Ah, there's no floor on the other side of this door. It's an open corridor that has a door to Control Room, but the room isn't on the other side of this door. There is a ledge about half a foot wide on this side but I'd never be able to carry Rodney across it." Sheppard hooked his right foot into an opening in the wall for balance and leaned a little forward as he shone the light down. All he saw was pitch blackness and he guessed that it likely went down to the next level of the city.

Lorne looked at the map and quickly tapped his radio. "Sir, don't try to move across the ledge. According to this map that opening in front of you isn't just down a level it's the inside channel that leads all the way down to the star drive at the base of the city. That's thousands of feet down. We'll try to find another way, Sir."

"DAMN IT! Rodney! Rodney, can you hear me? We're here. We're in the Generator Room; we're going to find a way to get to you. Just hold on." Sheppard didn't get an answer. He just hoped things hadn't gotten any worse in there, but he still had a very bad feeling.

Ronon stopped when the third dial clicked and hit his radio. "Zelenka, is it ok to stop turning these dials before all five are done?"

Zelenka looked at the data Rodney's Tablet was sending and nodded. "Yes, it is as long as the crystals are still blue."

"They are." He moved over to the door and helped Sheppard come back through.

"Thanks. OK, I'll take the dials; you try to find another way into the room." Sheppard ordered and Ronon nodded as he repeated the instructions for turning. When Sheppard nodded his understanding and started turning the fourth one Ronon walked over to the partial wall keeping them from Rodney.

Ronon knelt next to a hole and peered inside. He saw the body of the villager with a shard of metal through his chest and shone his light toward the legs since Rodney had said he could touch his right leg. He saw Rodney lying on the floor very still but could just make out that he was still breathing. "I can see McKay. He's breathing but I can't tell if he's awake. Looks like he's pinned about twelve feet from this wall by a big piece of ceiling and some smaller pieces of the stone."

Beckett touched his radio. "Colonel, do you have a Life Signs Detector with you?"

Sheppard answered, "No, it was taken when we were arrested in the Tower. OK, Zelenka, the dials are all turned and crystals are still blue."

"Just wait they should slowly turn yellow. When they do, pull vertical level on console to your right all the way down towards bottom. Wait then, there is another sequence to complete that should turn off generator and dispel last of its power which should stop room shaking." Just as he finished speaking the warning alarm on both his laptop and Rodney's Tablet began screaming that they were nearly out of time. The whole place starting shaking again as the tectonic pressure built up. "Less than two minutes!

"Radek we don't have time to do it the long, safe way around. Is there a quicker way to shut this thing down so you can shoot that pulse?" Sheppard's anger began to show as he process took too long. He needed to help Rodney.

"No, I'm sorry, just pulling the control crystals at base of device is too dangerous. Like removing safety on ZPM back home, could explode and kill us all." Zelenka paled as he realized that he had just told Sheppard how to do what he didn't want him to do.

Sheppard weighed the odds, if he did this the safe way the Earthquake would probably hit them and the city would collapse killing all three of them but the Jumper flying above would be safe. If Zelenka was right pulling the crystals could destroy the generator and the resulting explosion would kill everyone.

Before he could make a choice Ronon picked up a large piece of rock and hurled it at the partial wall smashing through into the Control Room. Sheppard jumped and looked at him. He knew it was the same kind of thing he'd likely have done and waved Ronon toward Rodney. "Be careful, Ronon."

Sheppard looked back down at the crystals. They had finally turned yellow. He grabbed the vertical bar and pulled it toward the floor. The line of crystals blinked yellow and then turned green and he saw a light come to life on a wall panel not far away. "Zelenka, they blinked yellow then turned green and now a light is on across the room on the wall and this place is falling apart down here. What now?" Sheppard had to yell to be heard above the groaning and shaking as the quake began.

Zelenka jumped and pushed his glasses back up his nose in excitement. "YES! Go to panel, you know the Ancient numbers yes? Type in 589243 and turn the dial clockwise. As soon as panel goes dead, we shoot pulse."

They all waited and watched the map on the HUD as sections of the city began to fall apart all around their friends. Nurse Wright turned away and Carson put a comforting hand on her shoulder but he kept watching the HUD. Teyla tightly grasped the netting next to her. Lorne's finger hovered so close to the firing button that he was almost touching it. Zelenka looked at his laptop as it screamed again that the structural integrity field had completely collapsed.

Beneath the surface, Sheppard followed Zelenka's instructions. Behind him, he heard the sound of Ronon's gun. He looked through the hole in the wall and saw his friend shooting large pieces of ceiling and wall that were now falling all around them. Sheppard waited what seemed like a lifetime as he used his arms to protect himself from the falling debris. Finally the panel blinked and went dead. "Lorne SHOOT!"

Lorne jumped but pressed the button. The occupants all saw a bright white flash shoot out in all directions from the Jumper. In the valley below, the large rift Ronon had seen earlier had opened into something that looked like a smaller version of the Grand Canon and exposed many corridors of the covered city.

Everyone seemed to be holding their breath, waiting, when Zelenka's laptop beeped again. Everyone in the Jumper looked at him with worry as he read what Rodney's Tablet was sending him. Then to their surprise, he grasped the laptop, jumped to his feet and screamed. "YES!"

He looked around at a group of shocked faces. He quickly contained himself and sat down with the computer again. He pointed to the HUD that showed small dots of light coming to life all throughout the valley. Lorne looked at him for an explanation.

Zelenka smiled as he explained. "The Ancients placed seismic regulators in ground where they land their cities. They contain the pressure that makes earthquake caused by their technology and dispense it evenly so it does no damage. Here, devices, like many of city's systems, failed after 10 000 years with no maintenance. Pulse we sent out reactivates devices and they stop quake. Should be safe now."

Teyla was the first to react to this news and she activated her radio. "Colonel? Ronon? Rodney? Are you there?"

Lorne brought up the LSD on the HUD to look for signs of life below. They were all surprised when a new voice entering the discussion.

Dr. Weir spoke as calmly as she could, considering everything Atlantis had just heard. "We've been monitoring the situation over the radio and await your report, Major." Elizabeth looked around her and saw everyone in the Control Room and even the people down in the Gateroom had stopped and were waiting to hear the outcome. Normally it would have filled her with pride that the members of her expedition cared so much about each other, but right now all she wanted to hear was Sheppard or Ronon say they were ok and so was Rodney.

END PART 6

So that is the second to last chapter of my story. The last one is going to be Part 7 and my beta Ashoname has it now and says it should be done in a day or so. Sorry it took so long to get this story back on track but I used some of my free time around Christmas break to get it done.


	7. The Aftermath

**Part 7 – The Aftermath**

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Everyone in the Jumper, including Zelenka, were now waiting and staring down at the giant rift which now spanned the entire valley. It seemed strange to them seeing what looked like Atlantis down there and they all wanted to go home and see their safe city again. Zelenka wasn't encouraged by the lack of information coming to his laptop from Rodney's Tablet.

Finally Lorne gave up on getting the sensors to punch through the distortion given off by the pulse and the mess caused by the quake. He stood and walked to the hatch of the Jumper. "Atlantis, this is Lorne. We still haven't been able to make contact with the team on the surface, permission to go down and find them."

Elizabeth was worried but managed to steady her voice. "Permission granted, Major. Be careful and report in at regular intervals."

"Yes, Ma'am. All right, Bent, Matthews, we're heading down. Mafta you stay here with the Docs in case you need to dodge anything coming out of that hole." Lorne pointed to the HUD while speaking to the only other pilot with the gene. The man nodded and took the pilot's seat.

Zelenka looked up at the comment and shook his head. "That is very unlikely. City is dead now. There is nothing to come at us."

Lorne just smiled and nodded to the scientist. "I hope you're right Doctor Z, but I'd rather not take any chances."

As the men started to get into their gear, Teyla walked over to Lorne. He put up his hand to stop her. "I know you want to come with us to find the rest of your team. I wouldn't expect any less. You're welcome to join us, Teyla."

Teyla smiled and nodded at Lorne as Bent offered to help her get into a harness. In a few minutes they had all being lowered into the hole by Mafta and Lorne had transferred Zelenka's map onto his Life-Signs-Detector. It was almost completely dark except for scattered small fires. The emergency lights had gone out with the generator. Their flashlights found incredible amounts of debris: stone, metal, glass, dust, dirt, and charred remains of consoles and fixtures everywhere.

No one spoke, but it was a grim reminder of what had almost happened to their Atlantis. And it still could. They were all from Earth, but now even the Daedalus crew felt like the Ancient city was their home and they had become just as protective of it as the original expedition members.

Lorne found the drone storage room and the team looked in awe at all the ones still left. It would be enough to bring Atlantis's weapons stores up to full again. They continued down the corridor carefully dodging fires, fallen beams and stone scattered everywhere. Lorne half expected to encounter problems from all the electrical wires that had been ripped apart, but like Doc Z had said, there was no power anymore. However, power or not, there were still collapses happening as they walked. They reached the transporter and saw where the panel had been pried off with one of Ronon's many knives. It had been smashed, a big rock covered the floor. They continued down the dark hallway to the door that had been pushed open and on to the next hall. They all stopped when they saw a single flashlight beam coming from one of the rooms on the right.

Lorne signaled Bent to stay behind at the door and guard their exit. Lorne, Matthews and Teyla moved towards the door and peered inside. It was the Generator Room, no question. Their flashlights shone on the large red and black oval-shaped generator and the hole Ronon had made in the wall to get into the Control Room. Teyla touched Lorne's shoulder and pointed up at a very large piece of ceiling which hung precariously over lower end of the room. Any vibration might bring it down on them. Lorne signaled Matthews to stay at the door and keep an eye on the damage and stay in visual contact with Bent in the hall.

Lorne and Teyla continued into the room shining their lights around, searching for their missing people. Teyla looked at Lorne, "We know Colonel Sheppard was in this room near the rear working on the power-down panel and Ronon was in the other room with Dr McKay."

Lorne nodded and they continued to look around for Sheppard. Lorne activated his radio. "Colonel Sheppard, this Major Lorne. Please report your position, Sir. We're in the city, now, searching for you."

They waited and then Teyla looked up at the ceiling as she called out. "John, Ronon, Rodney, can you hear me?"

Again they waited, hoping for response. Teyla saw Lorne frown as he looked up at the giant piece of ceiling and back at Matthews. The man by the door was still watching out for them. Lorne pointed toward the hole in the wall. It was difficult to see anything in the room, even with their flashlights. "Let's try getting closer to the hole in the wall. Maybe the Colonel was trying to join Ronon and McKay in there when the quake hit."

Teyla nodded and they headed to the wall. Lorne held up a hand to hold her back while he shone his light around both sides of the entrance to be sure it was safe. When he lowered his hand Teyla came up beside him and they both looked at the disaster inside the room. There were even more fallen pieces of ceiling, wall, broken panels and glass in this room than in the other. McKay wasn't kidding when he said that the room was falling apart. They found the body of the villager that had been McKay's guide. Teyla stepped forward and said a quiet prayer to the Ancestors over the body and then stood. There was a very large rectangular-shaped piece of ceiling blocking their view of the rest of the room. Teyla remembered that Rodney had said he was able to touch the leg of the other man. She directed her light at the villager's legs and found the smashed remains of McKay's Tablet next to the fallen stone before them. She quickly stepped around Lorne and moved to the other side and found her friends.

Sheppard was on his back, arms spread out on either side of him, like he'd been hit by something that had sent him flying backwards. Ronon could be seen spread out over McKay to protect his friend, his gun was gripped tightly in his large hand. McKay was unconscious, as were his teammates, lying on his side with his arms covering his head. It was obvious looking at the much smaller pieces of debris on this side that Ronon had been able to shoot most of the pieces raining down on them.

Lorne quickly stepped over to Sheppard and Teyla went to Ronon and McKay and they both checked vitals. Lorne was satisfied with what he found and looked at Teyla who also nodded. He stood up and touched his radio. "Jumper, this is Lorne. Do you read me?"

"Loud and clear, lad. Did you find them? Are they all right? Do you need me down there?" Beckett's worried voice was the first one they heard. He now regretted leaving the planet during the evacuation but he was needed to help set up a temporary hospital on Rekalia and then he returned to Atlantis only to be cut off until the DHD regenerated.

Lorne saw Teyla smile as she carefully tried to see if McKay's legs were still trapped. "Yes, Doc, we found them and they're all alive. Atlantis, did you copy that?"

A shout of excitement went up in the Jumper and in the previously silent Atlantis Central Control. Weir smiled and took a deep cleansing breath as she nodded her head in relief. "Yes, Major, we hear you and we're thankful for the good news. Do you require any help getting them out?"

Lorne looked at Teyla who pointed at a rather nasty looking, mostly shattered piece of debris that has been holding McKay's legs down. She pushed a few small pieces aside and her hand came away with blood on it. Lorne knelt to get a better look himself then stood again. "Colonel Sheppard and Ronon seem to have been hit by falling debris but don't appear to be too badly hurt, we'll try to wake them. But it look like Dr. McKay's legs are still pinned and there is a lot of blood on the stones. Doc, I'm going to take you up on your offer to come down."

Beckett was on his feet and picking out equipment to take as soon as he hear the word 'pinned' and his nurse was putting instruments and drugs into Beckett's nylon bag to take down. "Aye, Major, I'll be right down."

"Lt. Bent, can you go back to the opening and wait for the Doc?" Lorne waited for the man to acknowledge and then knelt again next to Sheppard. "Hey, Doc, would it be ok for us to try to wake the Colonel and Ronon? They'd be a big help in digging McKay out."

Beckett stood still as Mafta helped him into the harness. "Do ye have a small light on ye to check their eyes, Major?"

Teyla opened one of her vest pockets and started digging. "I do, Doctor Beckett. I keep a pen light with Doctor McKay's spare epi-pen."

Beckett smiled. "Good girl, Teyla. I trust one of you knows how to check pupil dilation? I will be down there in about ten minutes."

Teyla found the pen, shown it against her palm to check and nodded. "I do and am checking now." She lightly touched Ronon's right eyelid and opened it as she quickly flashed the light over his eye and to the side. She repeated the process a couple of times. She was happy to see the eye responding well and continued to the other eye. By the third wave of the light Ronon moaned and started to wake up. "Ronon is now conscious. I am moving to check Colonel Sheppard." She performed the same test on Sheppard and found his eyes equal and responsive. Like Ronon, her leader was beginning to wake up. "They are both conscious now and their eyes are responding well."

"Good, lass. Try to find where they were hit and apply pressure to those wounds. I'm in the city now and we're moving towards you." Beckett allowed the soldier to take his bag and he pulled out a LSD to get some more information on his friends. When he reached the Control Room, Ronon and Sheppard where sitting up holding white gauze to their heads and watching Rodney with a mixture of worry and relief. Beckett carefully made his way through the clutter and over to the group. He did a quick exam of the two men and then turned his attention to McKay.

"Atlantis, Beckett 'ere, both Colonel Sheppard and Ronon have concussions and from what ay'm seein' Rodney's heart rate and BP are both high. It appears he's got some serious injuries to his head and lower legs. Please have a trauma team standin' by in the Jumper Bay."

"Understood, Doctor, they'll be waiting. Do you have and ETA on your return?" Elizabeth wanted her people back on Atlantis with no further delay. They could deal with the injuries here where there was no further danger.

"We have to be careful uncovering Rodney or we'll do more damage. Could be at least another half hour." Beckett tried not to wince as he looked at the amount of blood on the floor next to Teyla. He looked down at McKay and shook his head. "Ye always have to make me earn my keep, don't ye Rodney."

Ronon pulled the gauze away from his head and shifted toward Beckett. "Doc, I can help get that off him. Just tell me what to do."

Sheppard did the same thing and sat up straight. "Yeah, me too, Doc. I feel fine, really."

"Aye, ye may feel fine but that's because of that high pain threshold of yours, both a you for that matter. Now keep pressure on those wounds until I figure out the best way to get this off him." Beckett worked for another few seconds with the LSD and finally nodded. "OK, Ronon sit there, Colonel there, Major there and Teyla stay with me here."

He pointed to positions around Rodney's legs and then ordered the three men to slowly lift the debris off. As soon as the pressure was gone, McKay moaned loudly, but he didn't wake up. Beckett frowned at the lack of consciousness but talked the group through the process of lifting the scientist onto the portable backboard. He did some very quick patching before he let them move Rodney. In a few minutes they were on their way out of the room and down the last corridor to the opening with all the climbing lines hanging down through.

"Is there any way we could land the Jumper down here, ay'd really rather not lift Rodney up and risk him being tilted." Beckett looked at Sheppard knowing if anyone could maneuver the little green ship down it would be him.

Sheppard nodded, pulled on a harness and ordered himself lifted up. He quickly took the pilot's seat and brought up what he needed on the HUD. In seconds he was bringing the little ship down into the hole and spinning it around so the hatch was facing the rescue team. Mafta, Zelenka and the nurse had already cleared the climbing equipment away and the back of the Jumper opened. The rescue team quickly filed in and Beckett settled next to Rodney on the floor. Everyone sat around them watching in concern as Sheppard quickly returned them to the Gate and home.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Several hours later, the entire rescue team plus Weir were sitting in the Infirmary hoping for news on Rodney. Sheppard and Ronon had been patched up but ordered to spend the night for observation. The others were in chairs around their friend's beds. There was some mild chatter for the first couple of hours but as the surgery dragged on silence fell leaving then all to worry in silence.

Finally Beckett appeared and they all came out of their reveries. Those who could stood up and Sheppard and Ronon sat forward. Beckett put his hand on the back of his neck and rubbed it. "They're still workin' on 'im, but ay thought you'd like an update. The compound fracture in Rodney's right leg has been fixed but there is a possibility of some nerve damage. We won't know until he wakes up. As for his head, that thick skull of his protected him well. He has a pretty bad concussion but he should have no permanent damage from that. All in all, he's pretty lucky considering everything he went through there. However, ay am worried about the emotional trauma and the panic attack he suffered. Colonel, Ronon, Teyla, would ye mind stayin' near-by when he wakes up tomorrow mornin'."

The three looked at each other and then at Beckett like he had two heads. Beckett smiled wryly and nodded. "Of course, where else would any of ye be." He looked at Weir, Lorne and Zelenka next. "He's going to be sedated at least until tomorrow mornin', assuming nothing else happens. All of ye should get some rest. Teyla, is welcome to claim a bed on either side of yet team mates for tonight. But the rest should go."

"Thank you, Doctor." Teyla hopped up onto the bed next to Sheppard.

The others looked sheepishly around as they loitered. Beckett finally smiled again. "This is hardly the best place to get a good night's sleep."

Sheppard caught Lorne's attention and waved him over. "Major, I appreciate your concern, but you don't have to stay."

Lorne nodded, "If you don't mind, Sir, I'd like to stay. I guess Doctor McKay grows on you after a while. I'd like to know that he's ok." Sheppard nodded and Lorne sat on a bed on the other side of the room, watching the rest of the room's occupants.

Weir looked at Sheppard and smiled. "Well, my day is done anyway. So unless you'd like to get some sleep I can stay a little longer."

Zelenka followed her lead. "Yes, I also am done for day. I'm sure Rodney will want me here soon as possible in morning to yell at for letting Atlantis sink into ocean or explode until he is back in labs again."

They all had to laugh knowing how right the Czech scientist was. This lighter mood lasted for another couple of hours while they all talked, but finally Beckett ordered everyone out but Rodney's team members and turned the lights down for the night shift.

The next morning Ronon was the first to wake up. He looked around and saw that McKay had been brought in during the night and was sleeping. Sheppard was also still asleep. He began pulling leads off his chest, ignoring the screams of his monitor. Beckett soon hurried up.

A few minutes into a heated argument, Sheppard woke up and saw his teammate giving Beckett dirty looks because the Doctor would not let him for his morning run. "Doc, I've run across an entire village with a concussion when I was running from the Wraith. I'm fine."

"Aye, I'm sure ye are, lad, but standard rules on Atlantis are to rest after any kind of head injury regardless of the severity. So ye will not be doing any running or working-out until ay say so, understand?"

Sheppard smirked at the size difference as Ronon towered over the Scotsman but the doctor held his ground with his arms crossed over his chest. Beckett was average height, but everyone seemed short next to Ronon. His laugh caught their attention and he pointed at Beckett. "You better do what he says, he'll know if you don't and you'll pay for it later."

Beckett smiled at Sheppard then turned back to stare Ronon down again. Finally the big man gave up and sat back down on his bed as a nurse brought them lunch. Sheppard looked at Rodney noting the machines and not so steady beat on the heart monitor as Beckett checked it. He looked around again and asked. "Hey Carson, where's Teyla? Didn't she stay the night?"

"Aye she did. She left early this morning to join Major Lorne's team and help take the villagers back to their planet and get started rebuilding." Beckett said without turning around as he input some data into a computer nearby.

An alarm went off on one of the monitors next to McKay. Ronon and Sheppard both tensed as Beckett moved over to check it. He pushed some buttons, looked at some readings and then switched the machine back to monitor. He looked at the two men watching him and smiled as he waved both of his hands in a down motion. "Relax, lads, it's just saying that his medications have been changed. I don't like some swelling I'm seeing so I'm leaving him sedated a while longer."

Both team members let themselves relax a little but didn't take their eyes off McKay. It was Sheppard who finally asked. "So he's ok, right Carson? No unexpected scares coming that will freak us all out?"

Beckett laughed as he looked down at his Canadian friend. "Not medically speaking, no. He's very lucky his injuries weren't worse. As it is, the broken leg isn't anything he hasn't had before, though ay have no doubt he'll complain up a storm over the slight discomfort once the pain meds start to wear off. The only unknown right now is the nerve damage, and I'm hopeful that there may not be any."

Sheppard considered that. "If there is damage, it's nothing that wouldn't heal right? I mean we don't have to worry about him not being able to walk do we?"

"Depends on a lot o' things, Colonel. But from what ay see on the scans he should be fine." Beckett knew that worst case scenario was something everyone worried about until they knew one way or the other, but he felt hopeful.

"So when are you gonna let us out of here, Carson. I'd like to go help with the transport of the people back to their planet and I want to bring the drones home. Not to mention, I'd like to see if any of their Jumpers survived the collapse of the Tower." Sheppard gave the smile that made most women melt but Beckett just shook his head.

"You both can join the team as soon as you've finished breakfast." Beckett noticed that both men were very happy with this news and Ronon dove into his breakfast.

However Sheppard looked over at McKay. "Didn't you want us all here for when he wakes up?"

"Aye, it would be nice, but that's not going to be any time soon. Ay don't expect him to wake up until maybe late afternoon. That's what Teyla, Elizabeth and Radek were told this morning." He watched as Sheppard seemed to relax a bit again. Carson got himself a tray and joined them for breakfast. When they were done he gave them another once-over and let them go.

After a shower and change of clothes, Ronon and Sheppard arrived in Weir's office asking to go off-world to help with the relocation.

"Teyla is on Rekalia and Lorne is working from the planet moving the drones back here. It's going smoothly, so why don't you to take a Jumper and meet Mara to discuss payment." Weir noticed Sheppard's hand come up and smiled as she raised one of her own. "Yes, you can scan the debris of the Tower for any Jumpers that survived and add them into the negotiations."

Weir smiled as she watched them walk into the Control Room and up the stairs to the Jumper bay. A couple of minutes later one of the little green ships lowered into the Gateroom as the wormhole opened. A moment later it was gone.

Sheppard checked with Lorne as they came through and found out where Mara and the nobles were. Then he flew into the valley and took a look at the crack caused by the quake. He momentarily flashed back to the memory of the whole room shaking and Ronon shooting at big chunks of building coming at them.

Sheppard shook his head, quickly recovering from the memory, and flew up the hill into the area where the Tower had once stood. He brought up the HUD and starting looking for his favorite little vehicles.

"Ah HA! I knew these things were tough enough to survive the collapse. I'm picking up readings indicating at least eight that are still in one piece and three more we can fix or use for spare parts." Sheppard was buzzing with excitement at the prospect of getting some replacements for the Jumpers they'd had to sacrifice.

Ronon just smiled at his friend's enthusiasm and then checked the time. "We'd better go find Mara and get these negotiations started so we can get back before McKay wakes up."

Sheppard nodded and headed back to the camp as he stored the locations of the ships in the Jumper computer. They landed and Mara came over right away, curiously looking at the ship that had just flown in above her.

"You can make them work? All of ours have been dead for centuries." Mara said as she ran her hand down the hull.

"Yeah, ours still work and we think we can make yours work too. They just need to be powered up again. That's actually one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. We'd like to take then and remaining drones. You can't use either of them now that your power source is dead, but we can." Sheppard gave her his best negotiator's smile.

Mara nodded. "I don't see why not. As you said, we don't need them anymore, but we will need something from you in exchange. We are eternally thankful for all of your help here but I have noticed that some injuries my people suffered in our hasty departure were healed or the pain was taken away. Can you give us this medicine and teach us how to use it?"

Sheppard nodded with a smile. "Not a problem. I'm sure our Doctors can whip up a few batches of pain killers and other things for you. I'll have a couple of our doctors train your people in basic healing techniques and to use the medicine we give you."

Mara smiled. "Thank you, John. Also, since we have now met, we would like to be able to contact you again, should we need to."

"Of course. We'll arrange to come back here and help you get your new government going once you decide what it's going to be." Sheppard hoped that they would get away from the caste society that existed now.

"My offer still stands. You could stay here and help us on this new path even though we don't need your help with the chair anymore." Mara was not flirting, she had made the offer before and still felt it would be good for her people.

Sheppard smiled but shook his head. "Like I said before, my place is with my people in our home. We still have a lot of work to do against the Wraith."

Mara nodded as her brother came over to join her. Just as Mara had changed, her brother seemed to have matured during the disaster also. Tavius nodded to Sheppard and Ronon, respect replacing the sneer he had shown before. "I trust everything is well here?"

"Yes, we were just discussing payment in exchange for some of the old things from the catacombs. And how they can help us in future." Mara smiled at her brother.

"I see, we would welcome any help you could give." Then looking at his sister, he asked. "Did you ask them about…"

"I did and they agreed to give us some." Mara smiled.

"Excellent, well I'm not needed here." Tavius nodded and left.

Sheppard took the chance to make his own exit. "Well, I'll have our people make you a device that will allow you to contact us and set up the delivery of those medicines."

"Thank you." Mara smiled and left to help her people with their new beginning.

Sheppard landed the Jumper in its berth and came down into the Control Room. "Hey, Chuck, where's Elizabeth?"

Chuck nodded his head to the right. "Out on the balcony, Sir."

"Thanks." Sheppard found Elizabeth leaning on her favorite support, her arms wrapped around herself, looking out at the city and ocean beyond. He cleared his throat to announce himself and then came to lean alongside her. "Got the drones, got a few Jumpers, I even got the girl."

Weir turned slightly toward him with a smile. "You got the girl?"

Sheppard shrugged but didn't look directly at Weir. "Well, I mean, I could have got the girl. I turned her down."

Weir smiled and turned back to the view as Sheppard put his foot on the bottom bar of the railing. "What did you offer them in return for the drones and the Jumpers?"

"A supply of medicines and an IDC if they need to reach us. I also offered to help them come up with a new way of running things when the time comes." Sheppard was sure Mara's people would contact them again.

Weir looked slightly sidewise and smiled at the confident but playful expression on her friends face and decided to make a joke. "They didn't offer to make you King?"

Sheppard's smile deepened and he shrugged again. "I turned that down too."

Then they heard Beckett's voice over the radio. "Elizabeth, ay wanted to let ye know that Rodney is awake and there doesn't seem to be any nerve damage. He's already complainin' about the food and yellin' at Radek. So ay'm going to say he'll be fine."

Weir and Sheppard both laughed as they heard a crash and Rodney's voice in the background. Sheppard stepped away from the railing and laughed. "I'd better go do some McKay wrangling before he drives Carson crazy."

Weir also smiled as she imagined how much Rodney was going to milk this when Carson finally released him. "Tell him I'm glad he's ok and not scare us like that again. Oh, and tell him I'll be down on my supper break to see him."

"Will do." Sheppard mock saluted as he headed down to the Infirmary. As he stepped out of the transporter he could hear McKay's voice and sighed in relief knowing that everything would soon be back to normal.

"McKay!"

THE END

YAY it's finally finished. I am so sorry it took from Season 2 to Season 4 to get this done. But it is now and I hope you enjoyed it. Feedback as always is welcome. Thanks to everyone who kept emailing me to continue and big hugs to my beta Ashanome.

I am trying to work through my other unfinished fics over Christmas and New Years break, what one do you think I should tackle next? LOL


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